Carter County sheriff Chris Mathes says 37-year-old Thomas Ken Owens, also known as T.K. Owens is facing charges after police say he had a murder-for-hire plot against Carter County deputy Earnest Widby, who is Owens' uncle and a local minister.

Owens is a former news reporter and sought the Democratic nomination to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Senate last year.

Owens was appointed an attorney Monday. The sheriff says Owens met with an undercover officer at a bar, where they agreed on $2,500 to kill the deputy.